If you know someone caring for and elderly or infirm person, please take an hour or day out of your week to help them. The caregiver is often the person at greatest risk for the next fall, stroke, heart attack, or bout of depression.

Amplify’d from www.whitehouse.gov

Caring for Caregivers

Posted by Terrell McSweeny on January 28, 2010 at 06:35 PM EST

This week the Middle Class Task Force unveiled a series of initiatives in the President's FY 11 budget that are aimed at helping families with soaring child care costs, balancing work with caring for elderly relatives or people with disabilities, paying for college, and saving for retirement.  These are costs that – along with health care – have risen dramatically for families at a time when their incomes haven't.   Some people call this "squeeze" because of the pressure these costs put on family budgets.  But for many families it just seems like it is impossible to get ahead.

This is particularly true for the so-called "sandwich generation" – people who are caring for children (or grandchildren or adult children who are struggling financially) and their parents.   The Vice President often speaks very personally about his experience caring for his parents and in-laws.  And almost all of us know someone who has juggled caring for a parent or relative who can’t get along completely on their own.  Millions of Americans provide unpaid care to aging relatives – including approximately 23 million caregivers with jobs and 12 million who are also caring for their own children.   That's why the Middle Class Task Force’s "squeeze" initiative includes help for family caregivers.

These caregivers play a vital role in helping seniors stay in their communities or at home.  But too often they don’t have the support they need to balance caregiving with work and family responsibilities.  As Elinor Ginzler of AARP put it:

"AARP is grateful that the Middle Class Task Force has drawn attention  to an issue that is deeply important to our members—the critical role of family caregivers and what we should be doing to help them.  Approximately 65 million Americans provide care to a loved one, giving more than $375 billion worth of unpaid care each year—often at their own financial and emotional expense.  Increasing support to these invaluable individuals would be an important step to help those who do so much to help others."

The nearly $103 million investment proposed by the Middle Class Task Force will support more respite care, counseling, training, referrals, and adult day care.  As Sandy Markwood, CEO of National Association for Area Agencies on Aging explained:

"Vice President Biden’s Middle Class Task Force’s recommendation to increase funding for the National Family Caregiver Support Program and Lifespan Respite, along with strengthening supportive services through Title III-B of the Older Americans Act, represents a huge investment in community-based programs that support the independence of older Americans and their caregivers. These funds will enable them to access and get the critical services that they need while avoiding unnecessary and more expensive institutional care or spending down to Medicaid.  We applaud the work that has been done by the Administration that serves to strengthen long term living options through home and community-based services."

The extra funding proposed by the Task Force will allow nearly 200,000 additional caregivers to be served and 3 million more hours of respite care to be provided.  It adds funding to programs that provide transportation help, adult day care, and in-home services including aides to help bathe and cook.  Some have said these things are modest.  And, to some extent, they are. But sometimes it is these small things that add up to make all the difference.

Eric Hall, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Alzheimers Foundation of America is well aware of the vital help these services give families:

"Family caregivers who struggle each day with practical and financial challenges have been anxiously waiting for this issue to be brought to the national stage and for relief in their own homes and communities. For these families, assistance at any level can help delay nursing home placement and enhance caregiver well being. The proposed initiatives represent a welcome change in direction, from minimal or flatlined funding to amounts that will make a difference for hundreds of thousands of American families."

And here’s what Gail Hunt, CEO of the National Alliance for Caregiving who represents family caregivers said:

"The National Alliance for Caregiving is proud to support the Middle Class Task Force and their efforts to support family caregivers. This is a wonderful addition to the National Family Caregiver Support Program and it is a perfect way to recognize these caregivers who on average spend 18 hours a week providing care.  The funding for transportation, adult day care and other services under Title III b will also help family caregivers by assisting the older adult they are caring for. We are grateful to the Middle Class Task Force for bringing much needed public awareness to the family caregiver."

The caregiver initiative won’t magically alleviate all the strain on caregivers and their families – but it is an important first step toward providing more support for families and caregivers and the vital services they are performing.

Terrell McSweeny is Domestic Policy Advisor to the Vice President Read more at www.whitehouse.gov

You don't have to be elderly to be forgetful, but a poor memory doesn't mean dementia either.

Amplify’d from health.yahoo.net

Licensed from Worried About Your Memory? 5 Signs It's Not Serious

By Paula Spencer, Caring.com Tue, Nov 30, 2010

It's natural to feel a little uneasy when you forget something, knowing that Alzheimer's disease now afflicts 5.3 million Americans, many still in their 40s and 50s. It's scary, sure. But many bouts of memory loss are simply the result of much more benign situations.

How can you tell the difference? The following five situations point toward normal, age-related memory loss. The best rule of thumb: "If you're concerned, see a specialist," says psychiatrist Gary Small, director of the UCLA Center on Aging and author of several books about memory and cognition, including The Naked Lady Who Stood on Her Head. An evaluation can rule out certain potential causes and often identify reversible ones. (See also Worried About Memory Loss? 5 Signs It's Serious.)

It's probably not serious if: Lapses don't interfere with everyday life.

Everybody forgets stuff. The movie title on the tip of your tongue. The name of the dad on the soccer field. The occasional appointment or lunch date. What the heck you just came in the room to get.

Slowed recall of information from time to time is normal, caused by the naturally aging brain and other lifestyle factors (like trying to cram too many tasks into one day). What's not normal: When memory impairment interferes with your ability to get through the day. Everyday activities tend to rely on many rote steps and require you to remember basic sequences -- which the healthy brain isn't apt to forget.

So it's a reassuring sign if, despite occasional lapses, you can still work, prepare meals, dress yourself, manage your checkbook, pursue hobbies, and read 900-page novels or pursue your other usual hobbies as well as ever without needing help.

Brain training helps

It's probably not serious if: You see an improvement after "brain training."

Dozens of "brain fitness" products now exist, promising to strengthen our synapses and buffer our brainpower. Do they work? So far, there's no evidence that brain games or cognitive training can reverse the memory loss associated with Alzheimer's-related decline, according to a National Institutes of Health panel convened in 2010. But the jury is still out on whether there's a protective effect on healthy brains.

"Our brains naturally compensate for memory loss, and we can help our brains compensate more by learning memory techniques and cognitive techniques," psychiatrist Gary Small says. "If you do some of these techniques and see an improvement, that's a good sign."

Dementia is not so much a problem of retrieving old memories as it is an inability to form new ones. If you can still learn new things, you're forming new memories.

Among the available brain-strengtheners: Software you run on your home computer, classes offered by memory centers, cognitive therapy directed by trained therapists, and do-it-yourself books offering brain teasers and other games.

You've got new meds

It's probably not serious if: You've just started a new medication.

It's always a good idea to consider what else is going on in your life before you get too worried about a fuzzy brain. Drug side effects happen to be one of the more common, unexpected causes of memory trouble.

In fact, among older adults, who are often taking multiple prescriptions and then have an increased risk of dangerous interactions, the problem is so common that some geriatricians believe that any new symptom should be considered a medication side effect until proven otherwise.

Medications known to cause short-term memory loss include antianxiety drugs and sedatives (Xanax, Valium, Ambien), heartburn drugs (Tagamet, Pepcid), incontinence drugs (Detrol or Ditropan), cholesterol drugs (Lipitor) and some statins for high cholesterol, and antidepressants. A complete list numbers in the high dozens; always check with your doctor or pharmacist, especially if you've recently started a new prescription or have had the dosage changed.

You're the only one who's worried

It's probably not serious if: Nobody else seems to notice anything's amiss.

It's true that people might be noticing you're slipping but not saying anything to protect your feelings. But usually, there's a lot of family friction around memory loss that predates a diagnosis, says University of Wisconsin geriatric psychiatrist Ken Robbins. You find yourself in arguments over who neglected to do something, missed appointments, forgotten messages, or lost drivers. Family members may criticize or complain about mistakes before there's a diagnosis of something serious like dementia.

Eventually, this adds up to relatives often making a dementia diagnosis informally themselves, and being right. A 2010 study at the University of Washington School of Medicine in St. Louis found that family and friends tend to be able to spot the early warning signs of Alzheimer's disease even better than traditional screening tests and high-tech measures. They notice symptoms like repetitive stories or questions, social apathy, and changes in the person's ability to independently conduct everyday life (work, cooking, money management).

But if you're all still just teasing and joking over occasional slips -- think of Nora Ephron titling her new book I Remember Nothing -- odds are good nobody's alarmed yet.

You're stressed

It's probably not serious if: You're forgetful when stressed, sleep deprived, or multitasking.

Before you blame the worker (you), consider the workload. A stressed brain is not the same as a demented one.

Doing two or more things at once taxes the brain. No surprise there. Neuroimaging studies have shown that you're not really attending to several things at once. You're switching your attention from one to another, which means when you're attending to one thing, you're not really attending to the others in bursts lasting milliseconds. Result: short-term memory loss.

The challenge is especially hard if you're using the same part of the brain -- for example, using language centers to talk on the phone, read onscreen, and type at the same time.

Insufficient sleep is another common brain stressor, because that's when the brain processes and organizes memories for later retrieval. General stress, too, affects memory when increased cortisol production temporarily interferes with normal brain cell communication

People with early dementia, on the other hand, tend to forget regardless of whether they're sleeping well or poorly, busy or slow at work, stressed or unstressed. Read more at health.yahoo.net

Seasonal Affective Disorder also hits the elderly hard. Please keep a look out for senior citizens this season and look into neighbors helping elderly neighbors programs.

Amplify’d from thewordworm.wordpress.com

How To Cope With Winter Blues

Around 50% of the adult population find that, the onset of winter gets them down. The nights are drawing in and there’s a nip in the air, one in four of us will succumb to the winter blues or full-blown Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).  Here are some tips that can help get you through the winter months smiling. Don’t Fight The Winter As the temperature and levels of light drop, it is normal to feel a bit low in mood. We do need this climatic downtime, accept winter as an essential part of the year, which allows you to slow down, reflect and reconnect with what’s important. Be Prepared For Winter Kit yourself out for winter, properly insulate yourself with thermals, invest in a pair of sturdy wellies or snow boots and a good waterproof jacket to keep out the rain. Get The Right Tools For Winter Don’t let the first frost catch you scratching your windscreen with a credit card! Invest in an ice scraper or a night ‘car cap’ that can be taken off in the morning.  Tired of using a feeble umbrella? Why not buy an award-winning ‘Senz’, a storm proof umbrella that can see off 70 mph, and also boasts an innovative shape to keep bottoms dry. Protect Your Hands Prevent painful chapped-skin by slathering on non-greasy hand cream, each time after washing your hands.  Fingers need to be kept warm when temperatures plummet. Leather is naturally water-repellent and keeps hands warmer than man-made fabrics and knitted gloves.  Look for soft Nappa leather to maintain dexterity and long cuffs to keep draughts out. Don’t Hibernate This Winter A reluctance to socialize is one of the consequences of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).  As humans we are not programmed to hibernate like Hedgehogs, isolating yourself or hibernating will worsen a low mood. Try not to sleep in, this can disrupt your body clock and trigger headaches, by staying in bed you will be missing out on precious winter daylight.  We are programmed to sleep more in the winter so as to recharge our batteries. Try and get up at your usual time each day, but get more sleep by going to bed earlier. Fitness In Winter Try and embrace winter and keep yourself active and healthy, try a ‘Sno’ fit workout featuring snow board and ski moves.  Why not take up Zumba, a Latin inspired, dance base workout.  People who take part in Zumba swear it combats a low mood. Wake Up Smiling Try using a dawn simulator that floods your room with ‘daylight’. Studies have shown it boosts the body’s internal body clock, meaning you will wake up feeling alert.  Why not try a session in a real Sunlight Simulator Spa, clever lighting replicates full spectrum sunlight, with the harmful UV rays filtered out and infrared heat.  It claims to help beat SAD, reduce stress and boost energy and immunity. Train Your Brain Learn to think positively, by thinking hopeless, despairing thoughts; such as “I hate winter” your brain creates equally depressing chemicals.  Break this cycle by focusing on good things, the train being on time, the traffic lights staying green.  Positive thoughts help release a surge of positive hormones. Look Good And Feel Better This Winter Just because the sun has gone in, don’t abandon your good grooming habits.  Regular moisturising, waxing and pedicures, although hidden underneath opaque and woollies, will keep you feeling good. Eat Yourself Happy Many of us become deficient of vitamins during the winter.  Slice an avocado in your lunchtime sandwich and wash it down with a glass of milk, both are good sources of vitamin D, oily fish and eggs are also great sources.  Try not to lapse on your five a day, winter fruits and vegetables are delicious, cram as many of them into soups, casseroles and porridge, this will help your body and your mind. Keep It In Perspective Tell yourself often that this will pass, by Christmas the days are already beginning to get longer.  Get yourself some holiday brochures and start dreaming.   For further advice on winter blues or SAD contact your doctor or log on to: sada.org.uk Read more at thewordworm.wordpress.com